Massachusetts, 2011- A Wonderful Vacay That Was Much Too Short!

I've had weeks now to reflect on my (Too short) visit to Massachusetts. I couldn't wait to get there, and I hated to leave! I wish Madi could have been there with us, but at this point in our lives it is difficult to get everyone together at the same time. Next time she will be with us for sure!

Settle in, grab a snack. This is going to be a long post! *This post is also jam-packed with links for you to click on so you can understand even more of our Massachusetts experience. Click the links when you see them,  for more information.** You will also notice a significant difference in the quality of pictures posted here. I apologize in advance for the phone pictures, but I use them to show you moments that were not captured with the expensive cameras.

We planned our trip so that we would take the midnight flight to NY and then connect to Boston after a short layover. Our thinking was that this plan would put us in Massachusetts 6 or 7 hours earlier than the direct flight from SLC. We told ourselves that it wouldn't matter if we were exhausted. It was a good plan.. in theory...

The reality of it was that we were walking zombies on Thursday because we were all sleep deprived. Simple tasks became difficult and tempers were short. We were all irritated, hungry and exhausted by the time we had our rental car. I called Aunt Dottie to let her know we had arrived and would have to have some extended naps before we could function. She was as sweet as ever and I couldn't wait to see her after our beauty rest!

Beautiful photo taken by Carley from a moving vehicle as we made our way through Boston

Chipmunk Face Abby.. this was the official silly face of the trip!

Chipmunk Linzie

Our hotel was very accommodating and the staff was very kind to work with us when we decided we need a quick room switcheroo in order for the girls to have their needs met. After that, it was curtains closed and lights out! I think we slept for 3 hours solid before I pried my eyes open and nudged everyone awake. So much for those extra hours in Boston, it was then the same time of day it would have been if we had just caught the direct flight!

We were all rested and refreshed and properly giddy as we headed over to Aunt Dottie's place. I loved traveling Everett street, to Clapboard tree Street, to Milk street...  *sigh*  I felt like I was returning home! My girls loved walking up to her door, grinning with excitement over the moment that we had been waiting so long for. When I opened the door and saw that beautiful lady, I rushed over and hugged her so tightly! I have missed her so very much! Everyone followed me in and over the next few hours we made first-time introductions, visited, and enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of the perfect lady that I am so proud to know as my Great Aunt.  Looking back now, my only regret for that entire trip (although it is a huge regret) is that I didn't do more for her while I was there.. I should have insisted on doing the dishes instead of giving in to Dottie's own insisting that I leave them where they were..  and the biggest regret of all is that I did not spend more time with her. I started to feel that we were overwhelming as a group and I never, ever want to impose on this lady that I love so much.  Those precious hours we had with Aunt Dottie were perfect and wonderful... I hope to go back before too long and visit with her again.

I think we were all still suffering the effects of our midnight flight the night before because when we got back to our hotel rooms, we didn't even say a proper goodnight to each other.. we just stumbled into our beds and went right to sleep. It was seriously awesome sleep too! You know how good you sleep when you're happy and exhausted?  Yeah, it was like that.

The next morning everyone woke up happy and refreshed. My Hubby had done his vacay thing and researched the best breakfast cafe in the area, so we headed off in search of the Brookside Cafe.  We were not disappointed! We laughed as Hubby introduced Emily to coffee. I don't know how I feel about my little girl being a coffee drinker, but I was carried along on the happiness surging through our group, as helpless as a leaf in a stream.
 

 After breakfast, the plan was to head to Duxbury to see John Alden's house. John Alden was my 10th great grandfather and I thought it would be special for the girls to tour the house like I did last fall with my mom and Aunt Dottie. We talked about the landscape as we drove; imagining what it was like 300+ years ago when our ancestors settled in the area. Little did we know, Carley had an eye problem developing that would soon become urgent. (There's always some kind of drama on our trips, dontchaknow?)

When we arrived at Alden House, they weren't open yet. We had a couple of hours to kill, so we decided to head down to Plymouth to see the Mayflower II and check out the shops. I was in charge of navigating, and you would think that would be a simple task with a GPS unit.. but I managed to get us lost anyway! It turned out to be a happy accident though, because we discovered the most beautiful bay and the coolest wooden bridge ever! We had a blast photographing the area!

 It was at the bay that I first discovered Carley's urgent eye issue. She could not see out of her left eye. Her contact had, for reasons unknown, clouded over and she was in terrible pain. It is also very disconcerting to lose one's vision and Carley was in distress. Immediately I began looking for an optometrist nearby and calling Carley's eye doc back home to get some assistance. I desperately hoped for luck to be on our side. The first optometrist we tried was closed, but Abby quickly found another nearby. Carley and I walked into the quaint little office of Francis J. Aprea, and were so grateful to be somewhere that she could get help. By now, Carley was in so much pain that she had to take her contact out entirely. She was so upset as she sat there with her contact drying and curling up on her finger. I put on my best Mom hat and tried to comfort and reassure my girl. Dr. Aprea's kindness was beyond measure as he gave up his lunch hour to check Carley's eye. He seemed equally mystified as to the cause of the problem, but in the end he said it could be that Carley's eye makeup had gotten oil on the lens and she would have to get a new pair of contacts as well as stop wearing makeup for the time being. I thanked him over and over again for helping Carley and saving our vacation. He had been a little stern with us (understandably), but when I complimented his beautiful antiques (original Windsor chair, apothecary desk, and much more!) his demeanor softened and he sent us off with a genuine smile.

We met up with the rest of the family who had been touring the shops, and we put on our tourist caps as we prepared to exercise the plastic. We must have gone in at least ten different shops, but everyone left with special treasures to remember the trip to Plymouth. Carley seemed to be feeling better too, so the mood was great once again.  We had spent more time in Plymouth than we originally intended, but we didn't mind. One of our strengths is being able to adapt to necessary change on our vacations. We just moved things around and made new plans.

That right there is Plymouth Rock.  Do you believe it? The monument was impressive. The rock? Not so much.

We decided it was time to head back to Duxbury to see the Alden House. A guide met us in the gravel parking area and we walked up to the house together. It was a different experience than last year because the house wasn't covered in Halloween decor and we had someone telling us the history as we stepped into each room. I tried to imagine ten people sleeping in one room, smaller than my own master bedroom is now, and I couldn't fathom it! I love the old house and the work that went into it, but I know my family wouldn't fare well in a house with very little private space. I guess it's all what you're used to. I felt a sense of accomplishment as I photographed my daughters, John Alden's 11th generation great-granddaughters, in front of that historical home. We only had that day to tour the home before it closed for the season, and we had met that goal. I hope my girls loved it as much as I do!

The original plan was to head to Concord next, but due to the emergency earlier, it was quite late in the day by then. Hubby had his heart set on touring the Samuel Adams brewery while we were in Boston and he was pouting a bit over the thought of possibly missing the opportunity on Saturday. Why he didn't tell me all of that before, I will never know. Until that moment, I had no idea that Saturday wouldn't work for touring the brewery, so I thought all was fine. But we did what we do best, made some quick adjustments, and we were headed to Boston instead of Concord. Actually, it made more sense to hit Boston and then do Concord the next day, because Boston was closer at that point.

Touring the brewery was not my favorite event of the trip, it's Hubby's thing after all, but I do admit that it was kind of fun, and I loved how happy it made Hubby. While we were tasting the free brew (and I was dreaming of water.. rum.. anything other than beer!), the girls were nearby at a cafe, playing card games. They tell me they had a good time. I appreciate them being patient while Hubby got to do something of his own! Interesting note: Carley experienced the kindness of a stranger at that cafe. He approached them and asked if anyone was named Carley Penderquist. They were skeptical and probably a little afraid of this man, but Carley told him that was sort of her name. He then handed over her debit card that she had dropped in the parking lot when they exited the car. Thank you, Kind Stranger, for going out of your way to return something so important to my girl.

Knowing that it was unlikely that we would make it back to Boston on that trip, we then decided to hit Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. This was the part that Carley was looking forward to the most, and I know my girlies love to shop, so I resigned myself to hours of intense shopping and just did my best to deal with it. (Around here, it's no secret that I am not a shopper. I would rather do almost anything else.. including touring a brewery!) We grabbed some awesome clam chowder from the Boston Chowda Co. and it was as tasty as I remember it being when I visited there with my mom, my sweet grandma, and my Aunt Dottie more than 5 years previously. I was exhausted from the day, and struggling to choke back the lump in my throat over the very strong memory of my grandma in that very location. I don't think anyone noticed me wiping away the tears... if they did, they didn't say anything to me. Maybe they knew where my heart and mind were at the time.

The shopping at Quincy Market is really only a blur to me now. I remember my feet screaming at me and I was so tired that I actually grabbed a micro-nap while sitting on the edge of a raised flower bed as my family watched some street dancers perform. There was some serious pep-rallies going on in my head by then. I had to encourage and nudge my every step, reminding myself how great it would feel to fall into bed soon. I think my favorite part was discovering an acoustic band, Cahill Music, playing for the crowd at Quincy Market. I am so happy I gave Emily the five dollars to get one of the CDs offered. We love this music! Be sure to click on their name above and then select "stream music" in the bottom right of their web page to listen to the music that now represents Quincy Market to us.

I'm pretty sure everyone had a good time at Quincy Market, but I'm also sure that everyone was exhausted by the time we climbed back into the rental car. We may or may not have been too tired to rid ourselves of the little spider climbing around on the vehicle's ceiling, but we were not too tired to be freaked out about the possibility of that rogue spider landing on our heads at any second. When we reached the hotel, people literally jumped out of the vehicle, so relieved that they would not be the next Little Miss Muffets.


Again, we fell into bed, thoroughly exhausted from our event-packed day!

We woke up on Saturday morning and Hubby had one thing on his mind. The Brookside Cafe. We had another fantastic breakfast, more coffee for the newly-addicted Emily, and then we were off to see Concord and the historic Old North Bridge.

The day was overcast and misty. I can't really say that it was raining because it was more like the misty Hawaii rain... except cold. The girls were enchanted by the scenery, just as I hoped they would be. It was complete photo gluttony as we gave our cameras a serious workout! Easily, my favorite pictures of the entire trip came from the Old North Bridge. I only wish I had my entire family there so I could say we had family pictures done there. Unfortunately, Hubby wasn't enjoying that stop as much as we were because he was busy being breakfast for the mosquitoes that only seemed to want him that day. The rest of us were not bothered by the pests at all.

After touring the Bridge and the Visitor's Center, we headed down the road for what I had been dreaming about for over a year. I was finally taking my Little Women to Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House.  Walking through that house was surreal. A definite dream come true. I was in awe of how pristine the house and it's furnishings are! We walked through each room, visualizing the Alcott family in their everyday lives. It was exactly as I imagined it would be, and I was there with my besties. I could write for the rest of my life and still not be able to convey the honor I felt over being there with my girls. Again, this experience was lacking because Madi was not there with us. We will definitely go again so we can be complete! Visiting Orchard House was my second favorite activity of the entire trip. (Of course the absolute favorite part of the trip was visiting with Aunt Dottie!)

We reluctantly left Orchard House, new treasures in hand, and headed to Concord's main street so I could take my family to Mainstreets Market & Cafe, easily my favorite place to get delicious clam chowder and sit a spell.  The cafe did not disappoint! We had the best chowder of the entire trip in that cozy little cafe. I love it so much that I could live there. Do you think they'd mind?  More shopping followed, although we couldn't really afford much in those high end shops. I did get to visit my favorite bird sculpture in a seriously cool shop called Perceptions.  My bird was still there, still beckoning for me to buy him and take him home. For some reason, I couldn't get my mind control working on Hubby so he'd want to buy it for me.  *pout*  But I did get to hold this beautiful bird (he was so heavy!) and I did fantasize about owning him (again).  Maybe someday, Mr. Bird, some day.

Would you believe our day was once again disappearing on us? The mist was still falling, feet were sore, and we were all tired. Hubby had another quest to conquer though... Lobster! He was determined to eat fresh lobster while we were in New England. He chose a place near the shore, I can't honestly remember where now, but we piled in the vehicle and set off on a drive for the coast. Somewhere along the way, we decided to pull up Salem on Google Maps and we realized we were only two exits away. Salem. On October first. Uh.. Yes, please!  I will be the first to tell you that Salem was nothing like I had pictured in my head. I guess I had quaint village with giant pumpkins in my mind. No way, no how! Salem is a fishing town that is now overrun with tarot card shops, pentagrams, and the most bizarre people I have ever seen! We had about 2.5 seconds in the visitor center before it closed (bummer), so we shuffled outside and followed the stream of weirdos down the street to ... can you guess?  Another shopping district. We picked up a few more items, including my new favorite hoodie, and called it good. I like the idea of Salem, but the people were a little over the top for me. One guy had the entire top of his head tattooed and some horn implants on his forehead. He must have been sorely disappointed when he wasn't born a goat, and now he is trying to make up for it. I say a goat, because that's mostly what he looked like, even though I suspect he was shooting for something sinister.  Whatevs.

By that time, our little detour had cost Hubby his coast town lobster dinner so he had to look for something local in Salem because it was getting late. He used his handy dandy smart phone and found The Black Lobster nearby. Big mistake. Huge! If I could only turn back the clock and refuse to walk in the place, I would. We were worried when the general manager told us he doesn't like seafood.. it still wasn't too late to walk out. But we stayed. Ugh and double ugh! If you're thinking of trying The Black Lobster for yourself, call me first so I can talk some sense into you. If that doesn't work, come over.. I will lock you in the closet until the urge passes. You don't want to visit this place. Capice? The food was cooked terribly, the kids didn't even like the pasta, and I ended up horribly sick all night. I felt like I was cursed, in Salem. But at least I have a snoogly hoodie!

On the way to Salem. Methinks some kiddos were tuckered out!

While we were waiting for a table in the most horrible restaurant ever, I checked our flight home the following day. I had scheduled it for the evening flight so I could spend time with Aunt Dottie before we left. As soon as I saw the listings, I knew we were in trouble. There was no way we would make it on that flight. I started looking for alternatives. The only choice we had was super early in the morning, with a layover in Atlanta, and even then it would be difficult to get us all on one flight. I knew we had a marathon day ahead of us, and because it was very late by then, and we had to be up by 5AM, I didn't even get to call Aunt Dottie to apologize for what must have seemed like we skipped out on her. My heart was broken.

Back at the hotel that night, we carefully packed and prepared for our early departure. I had the blues. Seriously. Stop laughing. I was bummed big time! I didn't want to leave, but I especially didn't want to leave without saying goodbye to Dottie. There are not enough words in the world to describe how wonderful she is. I left my heart in Massachusetts. I really did.

Our marathon day was insane. We all managed to get on the plane out of Boston (to the stunned looks on the other passenger's faces as our big group was called up in front of everyone else that was waiting and we boarded before they did), but getting out of Atlanta was another story! We didn't make the first flight, only Carley made the second flight, then Abby and Linz made the third flight, and finally... Hubs, myself, and Emily made it on the last flight home. My mom was kind enough to pick Abby and Linzie up from the SLC airport (Love you, Mom! Thanks for taking care of my little girls), and we were all home and snug in our own beds by 2AM, twenty three hours after we began our exodus home.

The hotel elevator had mirrors on the ceiling. So we did what we do best... goofed off!

 It wasn't the same magical trip that I had with Mom and Aunt Dottie last fall. On that trip we had the luxury of time and we spent so much of it with Dottie. This time it was a whirlwind trip and there was too much to do for such a short period of time. I loved the trip, but it left me wanting more..... I will just have to plan another trip as soon as I can afford it!

Never Enough Time - Enjoy Every Moment We're Given

I'd love to tell you that I've been away on some fantastic vacay, but the truth is plain-vanilla boring.  I've been here, concussed and foggy- but more or less here, doing the normal every day living.  I go to work, I come home and say hello to whatever girlies happen to be home at the time, and I complain about the dogs.  Normal... Boring!

(Except for the day at Pineview with my besties and the adventure of FIVE of the girls getting pulled over by the water police.. but that's a story for another day!)

During those rare, quiet moments.. I think about my life and how lucky I am to be where I am, surrounded by my favorite people on the planet.  It's getting harder and harder to catch time with my lovelies as they get older and their lives, which have been somewhat pliable up until this point (think Play-Dough pliable and you'll get my meaning), have suddenly taken on a more concrete form... a form in which I'm more of a supporting actress, or extra, instead of the lead.

Wow... did any of that make sense?  If not then let's go ahead and blame the concussion since that excuse is really working for me lately. 

My point is that my girls are growing up. Their lives are becoming their own and I find myself more and more on the fringes... trying to understand this new way of life and what it means for my family. It's hard to let go. I have nurtured and cared for these little creatures their whole lives.. I've known where they were almost every minute.. and now I find that sometimes entire days pass by without communication with one or more of my girls. Ouch and double ouch.

Just yesterday I was driving past the high school when I noticed a strikingly familiar red Jeep parked in the otherwise empty lot. I wondered out loud if that was my Emily's Jeep parked there and then I was amazed that I had no idea where my girls were at that point in time. Wow. Just.. wow.  Turns out it was Emily's Jeep and she was there goofing off with friends. But the point is that my little ones have grown up and are running their own lives more and more.

I need to find a way to make this difficult adjustment.

Hubby and I were talking last night about how we need to figure this new lifestyle out soon because the frantic pace of trying to keep up with everything is wearing us out! While I don't like the idea of accepting the splintered family evenings, I don't see much of a choice. Just the other day, we went up to the reservoir and had to swallow the bitter pill of leaving one of the girls behind because she had to work. It broke my heart. I want to ask my mom how she coped with this teenager-turning-adult transition? How do I let go of all the group activities and routines that I have carefully nurtured for 19 years now? It's not going to be easy!

For now, I am grateful to get what time I can with my family. This summer we have had wonderful moments of family barbecues, playing with the new watercraft, birthday parties and other backyard get togethers... but there haven't been nearly enough for my liking because we are also busy working our separate jobs, going our separate ways....

Slow down, Life...  Give me more time to treasure these precious days with my family.

Breaking in the new Waverunners:

Our Summer Garden:

 The screens, antique gardening tools and antique ladder all belonged to my beloved grandparents who also loved gardening.

Gardening Soothes The Soul

My life has been a hectic mess lately! I have been working for Google full time and I've been sick. :(  I know, I know! I could use a break, seriously! I wrote this post a week ago but only now found the time to add the pictures and post it. Forgive me if there are spelling or grammar mistakes, for I haven't had time to proofread. 

(Dottie, I miss you, Sweet Lady! I keep thinking I need to write to you and I absolutely need to make the time to do so. I think about you every day and hope that you are well and happy. I love you so much!)

Now for the belated post:

First let me say that all of the photos seen in this post belong to my fabulous Carley. She is a very talented photographer and I am so grateful that she takes her camera along for the ride when I am too busy to take pictures or have forgotten to bring my own camera along on our adventures.

As I mentioned yesterday, the weekend was full of blooming happiness. Each year, one of our favorite springtime activities is to head to our local nursery where we brave the insane crowds to claim our colorful prizes which will adorn our dirt patches all summer long.  I know there are kids out there who cringe over the idea of yard work (I was one of them) but my girls love getting their hands dirty as they help me carefully plan and plot how our gardens will look each year. It just wouldn't be summer without our sitting garden and our brightly colored flower pots dotting the deck like icing on a cake.

You have to get up early to get to the nursery before the mobs of people show up. When I say early, I mean you need to be there the night before and have your parking space staked out. We didn't do that this year. In fact, flowers were not even on my weekend to do list.. it was a last minute decision and we paid for it too because the crowds were in full-on crazy mode by the time we got there. The trick to scoring a parking space when you're a latecomer is to have multiple sets of eyes scanning for people loading their sweet-smelling treasures into their vehicles. Once the target vehicle begins to reverse, it is absolutely vital to pull in as quickly as possible, all the while pretending not to notice the angry mobs that mistakenly thought they had a chance at the same parking space.

As the girls and I piled out of the Durango, I felt a strange, yet familiar sensation washing over me... I felt giddy and it's a darn good thing I don't play poker because I couldn't have squashed my smile if my life had depended on it! I was in my happy place and we were about to go shopping for flowers. J&J Nursery is my drug and I am hopelessly addicted. I won't ever give it up, so don't even think about trying a 12 step program on me! AND.... my girls have the same addiction as I do, so two carts are a necessity!

Are there enough exclamation points in this post to properly convey the excitement of the day? I hope so!

When I say that we shopped until we ran out of cart space, I am not exaggerating! In fact, I think Abby might have even been balancing a flower pot or two on her head as we carefully navigated the crowded greenhouses, only slightly aware of impending doom at the cash register. As the cute check out girls began the process of unloading and scanning each and every flower we had gathered, I began to wonder what the heck I was thinking...  This was going to cost a lot of money and I would certainly have some s'plaining to do! 

We quickly realized that two carts full of flowers would never fit in a Durango that needed to haul five people as well. I was laughing as I pulled out the cell phone to call Hubby to our rescue. It's a good thing we just live down the street from the nursery and Hubby was able to hop in the Jeep and come pick up the girls that I no longer had room for.  It isn't like I would choose the flowers over the girls.... but had Hubby not been available, I knew I could leave the girls there and come back for them later if I had to, right?  Right?? (I'm not sure Emily would have even noticed being left behind.. we had to drag her out of there! She was so busy snapping picture after happy picture.)

We spent the rest of the day digging and planting, arranging and admiring.  It was wonderful! I love our annual garden planting day! :) More importantly though, I love time spent with my family. I am so blessed to be surrounded by my best friends who, luckily for me, happen to enjoy hanging out and helping.

Since we planted our flowers, it has rained, non-stop for over a week! I was able to take a peek at the flowers the other day and I am amazed over how well they are doing. I can't wait until the warm weather comes to stay so that we can enjoy our gardens every day.